Sanitary carpet-cleaner.



A. J. MEIER. SANITARY CARPET CLEANER. APPLICATION rum) APR. 25,1907.

935,9 1 9. Patented Oct. 5, 1909.

a 64, 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1. 2 4/ 1721 97226 ifnair en Jhzfifzez A. J. MEIER.

SANITARY CARPET CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 25,1907.

935,919. I v Patented 0@t.5,1909.

v s k- A 4 ma s:

gM 7P Rama? Y Bait known that I, ANDREW JOHN MEIER, =a-cit1zen of theUnited States,

, the like, all moved therefrom in the dry state, and which UNITEDsra'ras PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREW JOHN MEIER, or Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

- SANITA c arm-CLEANER.

Te rill whom it may concern:

residing at Longbeach, in the county of Los Angeles .and State ofCalifornia, have invented a new and useful Sanitary Carpet-Cleaner, ofwhich the following is a specification.

It of the objects of this invention to in'ovide a carpet cleaner whichwill perfcctly remove from carpets and rugs and dirt and dust that canbe rewill dispose of .the dust without expelling it into the open air;to accomplish such "rqvide for treating the carpet or rug chemas byammonia or other cleaning agent,;as.the carpetor rug passes through therrraphine; to tICCODlPllSh the cleaning without wrmkling or massing thecarpet or rug; to enable the operator to operate at will for a greateror less time upon any portion or portions of the'carpet or rug as thesame may require greater or less clean- ;ing action thereon; toimmediately release from eachiportion of the fabric the dust and dirtcontained therein, and to carry it away invention in the form I atpresent deem mostdes rable.

t-l ,at would otherwise be hidden.

Figure 1 'is a plan View of a sanitary carpet-cleaning device embodyingthis invention, parts being broken away to expose parts that wouldotherwise be hidden. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same, portionsbeing'broken' away to expose interior parts Fig. 3 is {a section on line'm a1 Figs. 1 and 2, looking to the right. Fig. 4 is a section on line w-40'", Figs. 1 and 2, looking to the left. Fig. 5 is a fragmental detailpartly 1nsec-,

tion, showing the spraying means for treat- SpeeificationofLettei'sPate'nt Application filed April 25, 1907. Serial No. 370,323.

cleaning without damage to the fabric; to'

Pa-pcnted Oct. 5, 1909;

ing the carpet or rug chemically or with cleansing agents, as ammoniaand the like.

1 is the frame of the machine provided with a cleaning chamber 2,portions of the front and rear sides of which are ,formed of swingingpanels or doors 3, 4;, at front and back, provided with transparentpanes a.

5, 6,. designate front and rear take-up rollers at t front and rearsides respectively of the cleaning .chamber,"each provided withfastening means in the usual manner, by which the carpet or rug to becleaned may be attached at} its ends to the front and rear rollersrespectively; ofthe rug extendin through the cleaning chamber andb'eneat the hinged doors or panels 3 and 4. Said fastening means mayconsist of a strip of flexible material as canvas, or the like, fastenedto the rollers front and rear and of sufficient length to pass from oneroller to the other, so that when a rug has been cleaned and wound uponone of 'the rollers, the fastenin strip of the other roller will havebeen awn through the the body cleaning chamber and brought onto the sidethereof on which the rugor carpet has been fully wound, so thatthe-strip may be unfastened from the rug or carpet and will be inposition to be attached to the next rug'or carpet to be operated uponand will be ready to draw the same through the cleaning chamber.

The fabric to be cleaned may be fastened to thefastening strips 7 by anysuitable means, as by safety pins 8. The cleanmg chamber 2 is open atboth ends above and below the plane in which the carpet or rug willextend when stretched from roller to roller. One end of said. chamber isar ranged'to receive air from a direct source of air supply, and may beopen to receive andirectly from the open air, as indicated by the inletorifices 9 and 10. r

Upper and lower outlet orifices 11 and 12 open into the dust-chamber 13which communicates at the top with a stack or any other suitable airoutlet 14. The upper end of the dust-chamber may be formed by the lowerend of the stack. It tapers upwardly, and a sprinkler 15 is arranged toher so as to wash the dust out of the air and prevent the dust'and dirtfrom passing up out of the dust-chamber. The bottom of the dust-chamberis formed as a WiLtGF-llOldlIlg receptacle 16 having an overflow 17.through which the water may flow after the dust has been deposited inthe receptacle 16. Draft appliances, as the blowers or fans 18, 19, andthe suction-fan 20 are provided, the

blowers at the inlet orifices and the suctionfan at the outlet orificedirecting air through the cleaning-chamber to the dust-chamber.

21 designates a foraminous resilient fabric supporter in the form of anopen resilient woven 'wire sheet, corresponding in its character toordinary woven wire mattress springs; the same being supported at theopposite ends of the machine by any suitable means, preferablycomprising bars 22 and nuts 23.

24, 24, 24" designate carpet pounders in the form of coil springsarranged above the fabric support 21 and supported at their endsrespectively by fastening means 25 in the form of' screw-eyes screwedinto the frame 1 atopposite ends of the cleaning chamber. The tension ofthe mattress springs is maintained by the bars 22 secured by the nuts 23and the tension of the coil springs that form the carpet pounder ismaintained by the screw-eyes. Suitable means are provided for drawingthe resilient pounders thus formed away from the fabric support and thenreleasing the same -to allow the tension thereof to operate to cause thepounders to forcibly strike the rug, carpet or other fabric supportedlby the fabric support 21. A plurality of the pounders is provided andthe means for drawing the same away from the fabric support areseverally connected to said pounders at different distances from the endthereof, respectively, so that one of said pounders may most forciblystrike the carpet, rug or other fabric to be cleaned at the middlethereof, while others'of the pounders may be made to strike said fabricmost forcibly at one or the other ends thereof.

In practice I have used three coil springs for the purpose of poundingthe carpet or rug. .In actual practice the several pounders will beoperated in alternation. The operation of the pounders may beaccomplished by various means. The means 1 have employed comprise levers27 connected by connections 27 -witl1 the pounders respectively,

and operated by cams 28, mounted on a shaft 29, driven by a pulley 30,which may be driven by a belt 34 from a pulley 31, on line shaft 32. Anidler 33 is provided on shaft 29 upon which belt 34 may run freely when1t 1s desired to stop the pounding apparatus.

for operating the apparatus.

The levers 27 are adjustably mounted by means of shifting frame 26,which is p1voted at 35 and is adjustable by a cam 36, mounted on a shaft37 controlled by a lever 38.

Various inter-connections for the simultaneous and intermittent drivingof the various parts of the machine may be provided and will behereinafter described.

For the purpose of chemically treating the carpet as by ammonia orgermicides, or other cleansing materials, a spraying device comprisingnozzles 39 mounted on and opening from a reciprocating pipe 40, isprovided;

said pipe being connected by flexible hose 41 with a suitable supply"receptacle, not shown, for the cleansing agent. The several nozzles arecontrolled by valves 42, and mayhave a. plurality of outlets, as thecentral outlet 7'43, and other outlets 44 arranged around the centraloutlet. These nozzles are arranged to direct the cleansing agentupwardly against the underside of the fabric to be treated, and extendin a line across the machine underneath the space between the tworollers, and preferably on that side of the machine from which thecleaned fabric finally emerges.

45 designates ways for supporting rods 46 which carry the pipe 40.

47 is a pitman connecting the spray pipe with the wrist-pin 48 of thepulley 49 driven with the other machinery of the apparatus, so that whenthe belt 50 is driven, the spraypipe and its nozzles will be rapidlyreciprocated transversely of the machine, under- .neath the fabric thatis to be cleaned. The

cleansingagent will be placed undersufliclent pressure in the sourcefrom which it is drawn, to' cause the cleansing material to be driven upagainst and into the fabric to be cleansed. The purpose of this is topurify the fabric that isbeing wound upon the final take up roller. i

The line shaft 32 has mounted on its extremity a pulley 51 which isconnected by a belt 52 with any source of power, not shown, A groovedwheel 53 is likewise mounted on the shaft 32, and is connected by acrossed belt 54 with pulley 55 mounted on the counter shaft 56, for thepurpose of drivingv the fan or blower 20 located in the dust chamber. 7

Upon the shaft 56 is mounted a large grooved wheel 57 which drives asmall grooved wheel 59 by means of belt 60. The required additionalspeed of the fan 20 is obtained by the drive to the counter-shaft 56 andthence to'the grooved'wheel 59 which is fixed to the fan 20. On saidshaft 32 is a friction-clutch-pulley 61 which is connected by thecrossed belt 50 with the pulleyand connected by a belt 64 on thecountershaft .on the shaft 32 with pulley 65 66cm which is mounted apulley 67 arranged to operate the'fans 18 and 19, the former throughbelt 67' and pulle 18 and the latter through belt 67 and pulley 19. Saidpulleys 18' and 19 are fixed to their fans 18 and 19 respectively.

68 is a long driving pulley on the shaft 32 designed to be connectedalternately with idlers 69 and 70, and with a fixed'pulley 71; all ofwhich are mounted on a countershaft 72. a Y

- Crossed and strai ht belts 7 3, 73' are ar ranged to be driven y thepulley 68 and to alternately drive the fixed pulley 71, the

A pulley 64 is mounted idler 69 being provided for the straight belt 73' and the idler being provided for the cross belt 73 to carry saidbelts respectively, when running idle. By this construction when belts 73, 73' arerespect ively running on pulleys 70 and 69, the countershaft72 will remain stationary. By shifting either the one or the other beltonto the fixed pulley 71, the shaft will be driven in one or the otherdirection depending on whether a- The Y straight or cross belt is inaction. countershaft 72 is connected by suitable means with the rollers5 and 6 to drive the carpet in one and the other direction as thecountershaft is rotated. On. the end of the countershaft 72 is a smallpulley 74: connected by belt 75 with the pulley 7 6 which is mounted on78 ismounted on the countershaft 77 and connected with a pulley 7 9mounted on the. roller shaft 80 by a belt 81 thus connecting the'rollersfor operating the wind-up of the carpet, as is clear. The forward orrearward motion of the carpet within the cleaning chamber is controlledby the and 83 which shift the belts 73' and 73 respectively.

In practical operation the carpets or rugs maybe placed with their rightsides undermost so that the force of gravity will assist in removing thedirt in the same course in which it entered the fabric; when the samewas in use as a floor covering, whereby the dirt will fall out fromwithin the pile of the fabric without any tendency to enter the fabricany farther than it had entered the same before the fabric was placed inthe machine; Furthermore the pounders are made to operate on the side ofthe fabric which was undermost when the fabric was in use as afloorcovering, and which side isuppermost in the machine so that the actionof the pounders serves'to drive the dirt downward out of the fabric intothe bottom of the cleaning channel from whence it is carried by thedraft into the dust chamber 13 to be there acted on by .the spray andthus carried belt-shifters 82 the roller shaft? 7 A pulley ers to a intothe. basin 16 while the free airflows on increased or dnninishedbyshifting the ec-" centric means 36, thereby carrying the ends of levers27 into various positions relative tothe centers of the cams 28 wherebysaid cams are caused to lift the levers more or less, thus to stretchthe spiral sprin poundgreater or less tension be ore they are released.

The pulley 7 8 that drives the belt 81 and pulley 7 9 for winding andunwinding the carpet is loose on the roller shaft 77 and is connectedtherewith through pulley 76 which is controlled by clutch 83 so that byshifting the clutch the shaft 77 and roller 6 may be allowed to turnindependently to'unwind drawn through the cleaning chamber, while inFigs. 3 and 4: the canvas is shown in the cleaning chamber position fordrawing the carpet through such chamber. By reason of the resilientsupport for the carpet the same iscaused to spring up and down inresponse to the action of the pounders and is relieved of any strainthat might tear the fabric.

The transparent panes a allow the operator to inspect the operation andhe may stop the travel of the carpet at any time that the presence ofdust in the cleaning chamber may warn him that the fabric has not beenfully cleaned. The pounders may thus be made to act on one portion untilit is cleaned. Or the fabric may be run back and forth one or more timesslowly or rapidly until the absence of dust in the cleaning chamberindicates that complete cleaning has been eff fected.

Whatl claim is z- 1. In a carpet cleaner, a frame forming a cleaningchamber and ports for admission to the chamber, a coiled wire fabricstretched horizontally in the chamber, means for pass ing a carpet tautthrough the chamber over the coiled wire fabric, coil springs stretchedin the chamber above the-coiled wire fabric, said carpet passing underthe coil springs, and means for snapping the coil springs against thecarpet.

2. In a carpet cleaner, means forming a cleaning chamber, a coiled wirefabric stretched horizontally in the cleaning chamber, front and reartake-up rollers atthe front and rear sides of the cleaning chamber,means for attaching a carpet to said rollers, .means pass the carpet berupon stretched l the coiled wire fabric, said carpet passing under thecoil springs, and means for snap- I snapping the coil springs againstthe carping the coil springs against the carpet. pet, each spring beingoperated independ- 3. In a carpet cleaner, means forming a ently.cleaning chamber, a coiled Wire fabric I In testimony whereof, I havehereunto set 5 stretched horizontally in the cleaning chainmy hand atLos Angeles California thislSth .5

ber, means for passing a carpet through the day of April 1907.

cleaning chamber over the coiled Wire fabric, ANDREW JOHN MEIER.

coil springs stretched in the cleaning cham- In presence of'- her inposition for the carpet to pass under JAMES R. TOWNSEND, 10 the coil sprngs, and ad ustable means for i M. BEULAH TOWNSEND.

